The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1887-09-22
THE BUTTON.

room was nllod with men, VINO drank ana
smoked, as it was in Alsace, the country
of beer and big china pipes.
JOHN Bayard came too late; thu dinner
was over.
"N-ell, give me anything, you have GER
The little servant girl to whom he spoke
burst out laughing in his very nose, and
answered: 90
"YcsI yesl will bring plate of it to
YOU -.,.-,--,,-ra....-.t -
lie was looking Mt her with amazed
eycs-she was all round, with rosy cheeks,
arms naked and hard rs marble, teeth
white and pointed, like those Of q young
wolf, which her laugh showed unto her
ears. According to the fashion of Alsace,
large butterfly, made of ribbons, fiut-
tered on her head, covered to the temples
by disordered mass Of golden hair, and
her short petticoat, with pressed folds, al
lowed one to see pair Of fine legs, firmly
planted on the ground. --.r- -.,.
THAT will do" said John Bayard. '1-
- When the ham that smelt good, the
brown bread whose crust cracked under
the fingers, and the pint glass OF beer
foaming and sparkling, were placed be-
fore him he began to drink and eat with a
prodigious activity. =. 81 49, -. '.~%i -.
But as he drank only the balmy air of
the mountain and tasted twelve hours, a
plate Of ham was not enough; he called
= for a second, then for a third, then for O
fourth; and for the purpose Of extinguish
ing the fire lighted in his throat by the
salt. lie swallowed pint glass after pint
glass with the utmost alacrity.
Meanwhile, little by little, tepidity in
vadcI all his being He leaned lazily
on the back of his chair, his eyes full Of
pleasure, and interested himself in what
- was going on around him.
Apparently twas late. One after the
other the drinkers rose, shook hands with
their friends and babe them ''good night"
then gravely they hooked their china
pipes on the rack, covered their heads
with their big felt hats and departed.
When a table was left unoccupied the
little servant climbed on q chair, and
stretching herself she put out the light
suspended over that table. .s.ff-..
Although anything witnessed by him
was very natural, John Bayard found the
people before him acting queerly. The
drinkers and the little servant girl ap-
peared to him a set of lunatics. II he
had seen them walking on their heads he
could not be more astonished. .. ..
Soon the room became q penumbra,
> filed with smoke, in which our friend re-
manned alone with the hostess, who,
seated behind the bar, knit, waiting for
his departure. rI.fn:.s- l'...tE + ~
$40 leave the innl Yes, it was the
hour for that" OF course he ought to
leave the place or else to ask if he could
have room for the night and breakfast
for the morrow. r. y - Il t5s =
:. All those thoughts passed vaguely
through his mind without transforming
themselves into acts. "By and BY" said
be. "By and by" He felt himself
growing heavy under the weight of such
beatitude, and SO happy in the enjoy
ment Of his laziness that he would have
remained the balance Of the night. "By
and by, when have eaten what is left Of
ham on my plate and drank those few
drops of beer in my glass" .... .-...-.g
Now, as his hunger was satisfied and
his thirst quenched he treated the ham in
amateur, by small pieces. Shortly, he
was coming to the end of 1t, when sud-
denly he felt hard body under his fork. s
"You," said he; "you will be pleased
TO let me alone and 60 to sleep on the edge
of my plate, like the wen bred bone that
you are" - 50 sts.i@' .. |aS~t
Putting it aside, he was struck by its
strange form; a common bone Is not per-
fectly circular and fiat, and above all,
never is it pierced with four systematical
holesi So he took the object between his
thumb and index, and he examined it.
His eyes dIlated with surprise; he had the
certitude Of holding o button. Yes! q
button, and moreover, q button pertain
ing to pair of trousers. 90.
"Whatr' thought he, ttnever have I
seen pig wearing trousers, therefore the
fellow who was the owner of the thigh
from which hot min - hox, he.
cut was not pig, but-but-a manr'
and reaching this conclusion he shook
with fear.
And he heaped reason over reason for
finding an irrefutable syllogism. .-- You
would have caused o. good deal of surprise
to him if you had told him that, admit
ting this bone to be a button, it might
have fallen accidentally in the sailing tub.
No, he had fixed idea relative to the CO.
relation of that button with the being Of
which he had eaten numerous slices. Ea6s
He looked around him very much fright
ened. His glances rested on the hostess;
for the first time he noticed that she was
dressed in mourning-a Widows mourn
ing-and that her face with prominent
cheek bones expressed q hypocritical Zero
city. Undoubtedly that woman had as
sassinated her husband, and for prevent
shS hOA SiiiiS w bC AAOHil~SnC udu tIdkl5-
formed the body of her victim into ham
and sausage" -.'- ,''-' -. -
He must do his duty, he must denounce
the murderess Of whom he had discovered
the awful deed to the police. He rose.
glided toward the door, deadening the
noise OF his steps, his eyes fixed on the
woman, who, perhaps, seeing him going
out, could guess his design and might
r7ctr ta IL,
him also.
Thanks to the precautions taken by him,
he made his escape successfully. Once in
the street, under the sparkling phantasma-
goria of a beautiful moonlight, he tried to
discover the residence of the chief of po-
lice Of this borough in which all the houses
were closed. S--
Walking through lane he sang loudly
in the hope of attracting the attention of
some one to wh6m he would expose his
errand Immediately after the first verse
that he yelled rather than sang window
opened, head appeared tied up IN ban
dana. sSs sf.
ssWby are you making that internal
noises" said the head
81 want you to tell me where the chief
T Of police lives"
s1n this house, and am that official. y
Then open the door. / have some.
thing to say to you.n
a moment afterward John Bayard was
| telling his story to the chief of police,
| which caused that functionary to run
| down the street followed by the painter
| When they entered the barroom, John
-fnw TINT the hostess had fallen asleep over
her knitting.
IAN the better, y thought he; ssshe viii
omar no resistance. ~
And he puts his hands on her shoulders,
exolatnling, "Theh hour for Justice to over
~ JON has arrived, and mou4ew has
Mo1R eHSt IN" ---.-----------.-vl